Letters | Coronavirus pandemic is a chance to use technology to reboot our education system

Name: Low-income Hong Kong students struggle as coronavirus forces classes online
Uploaded: 2020-11-21T23:45:11.000Z
Duration: 1 min 38 s
Description: Low-income Hong Kong students struggle as coronavirus forces classes online

While the disruptions to schooling have been a source of stress for parents, pupils and teachers, they can also prompt discussion on how to use technology to reform our education system to better serve the next generation

Reading Time:2 minutes

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Children exercise at Hong Kong Chinese Women’s Club Kindergarten in Shau Kei Wan on their first day back in school on June 15. Photo: Nora Tam

Letters

Published: 7:45am, 22 Nov 2020Updated: 7:45am, 22 Nov 2020

We are living in unprecedented times. The coronavirus pandemic is still affecting all walks of life. Education is no exception. Given that I have a professional background in education and philanthropy, I am extremely concerned about how well technology can support teaching and learning in riding out the storm.

Covid-19 has accelerated the use of technology in education. In Hong Kong, there have been educational disruptions, with schools moving from face-to-face classroom teaching to online teaching, and then blended learning. Covid-19 has pushed educators to rethink how to lead and harness the available resources in difficult times.

Hong Kong Education City, a company wholly owned by the Hong Kong government, is an example worth referencing. HKEdCity has been providing e-learning resources such as multimedia, reading and assessment material, game-based learning platforms and educational television programmes for various subjects. These are made available in the different categories of key stages.

Despite the disruptive power of technology, people are still the essence of education. Surveys have looked into the stress levels of parents, teachers and students in Hong Kong. We hear about parental burnout, teachers being stressed by new online pedagogy and students adapting to the new normal. Educators are under stress when leading their institutions during disruptive times as well. More support should be given to school leaders.

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Low-income Hong Kong students struggle as coronavirus forces classes online

Michael Fullan, global leadership director, New Pedagogies for Deep Learning, has argued that our education system has long been stagnating and is not serving the needs of most students in the 21st century. Covid-19 offers an opportunity for change and to rethink how technology could improve the way we learn, allowing us to reimagine how could we harness technology in education for good.

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.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Letters | Coronavirus pandemic is a chance to use technology to reboot our education system

Letters | Coronavirus pandemic is a chance to use technology to reboot our education system